THE ULTIMATE CARRIE BRADSHAW DAY IN NEW YORK GOES LIKE THIS.

DEEL I

Girlfriend and I stand super excited but for our feeling also a bit misplaced among the tourists somewhere around 5th Avenue and Central Park. We are going to do something that is definitely not done as a New Yorker in the making. But yes, as a serious fan of the world-famous series about sex and Manhattan, it really should be possible just this once... The Sex and the City tour. Oh yes.

As teenagers, we have to chuckle a bit at the tour guide who just came tripping in. She falls a bit into the Geordie Shore category with a thick makeup pancake (we suspect she just rolled out of the pub given the cone floating around her), a mega chatterbox voice, and pumps from the year zero. Not exactly SATC-proof. But right away, she starts spouting lines like only Samantha can do. So that's great.

After a brief explanation and some confusing back and forth from our guide (now we are sure: she is still drunk from the night before), we step in. On to where it all happened. With expectation, our hearts beat, but I have to be honest with you; if you live in New York and you are a passionate Carrie & co-fan, then you already know all those places from the series. You've walked/biked/driven past them a thousand times. And to be honest: all those SATC hotspots are really not that cool anymore. Not surprising since a restaurant/bar here has a popularity duration of about 5 months. Be that as it may, except for a few (like Buddakan, Magnolia Bakery), we mostly passed shops you don't want to visit anymore. Super superficial (yup I know), but that's just how it is.

What is of course nice for people who are not from New York is to see the film set throughout the city. But to jot down those places and later in the day have a cosmo there? No. Don't do it. The Carrie-cool was quite lacking on this tour. So I thought: let me turn it around. Not the real places, but the real Carrie vibe. Hence today a digital tour bus through New York as Carrie would do it in 2015. So grab your Manolo's (or look-a-like) and let's go!

Waking up is done in West Village

In SATC, Carrie lives somewhere in Midtown. But that's not entirely true. Her apartment, you know, with that famous stoop, is located at Perry Street 66. This is in West Village and let that just be one of the nicest neighborhoods in NY. Waking up here is definitely not a punishment. There aren't really hotels nearby, but there is surely a good Airbnb to be found. Or jump out of bed, grab a taxi, and start with a picture on Carrie's stoop.

Magnolia Bakery

At the corner of Carrie's apartment, you walk right up Bleecker Street; the shopping paradise of The Village and an endless number of Marc Jacobs stores. From makeup to baby stores, MJ rules in West Village. I recommend diving into the Marc Bookstore (as a true Carrie would) and take away a coffee plus mini cupcakes from Magnolia across the street. By the way, this is also the real Magnolia where Carrie and Miranda are nibbling on some sweets.

Walking through Bleecker

With a coffee in hand, a small sugar bottom, and probably an MJ souvenir, walking through West Village is on the agenda. Bleecker, W4, and W11 are really my favorite streets. In spring, you walk under a sky of cherry blossom trees, and in winter, it’s like a white fairy tale. Grab Google Maps and set course for the place where you need to have breakfast....

Breakfast must be done here

And by here, I mean: Sant Ambroeus. They are located in Soho and West Village, and this is simply the place to be. Simple. Besides lunch, brunch, and dinner, breakfast here is definitely heavenly. Plus, it’s totally Carrie-hip. I mean: Pharrell comes here among others, so we as Carrie-wannabes should be having breakfast here.

 Art

Big museums are nice, but not really Carrie. With Charlotte, it’s mainly galleries where she can be found. So after breakfast (and a little after dinner dip with coffee no. 2), we set our compass to Chelsea. This is the artists' quarter of Manhattan. Be sure to step inside David Zwirner, my favorite gallery which is also located on the street where all the other must-visit art spots are.

Tijd om te eten

I think it’s time to grab a bite. And now a bit more Yorkie-stylo. By that, I mean: French in an American way (just in between: Americans, especially those here on the island, are obsessed with France and Paris: everything that is hip is French). So French fries, steak tartare, and oysters. You have to eat those in Uptown at Rue 57. It’s a bit more above the border of 34th street where real New Yorkers don’t seem to want to go, but still, you see the SATC ladies also very much enjoying being above that silly border. And in 2015, that is at Rue 57.

Tomorrow part two! The evening program with all the places where miss Bradshaw-2015 meets her Mr. Big for a drink, has a girls' dinner, dances, and where it all has to end for a real SATC day.